Another COVID 19 related blog post. Seems that everyone is talking about it, 24/7 on the news, neighbors, online, socials… it’s everywhere. I thought I would add to the noise and talk about how it is impacting the world of a freelancer who works mainly in event photography. Because really, I don’t feel like watching… Continue reading Surviving COVID 19 isolation as a freelancer
photo tip
How to quickly add dozens of hashtags in your socials
Tired of always putting in the same hashtags to get some sort of pretend social traction? For a few years, I’ve been using a super easy shortcut on my iphone. I was chatting with random people while working yesterday and we came upon the subject of using hashtags and figured I’d create a new tip… Continue reading How to quickly add dozens of hashtags in your socials
Concert photography with a Fuji X-T2 | Montreal Photographer
I’ve been looking at a camera solution for everyday use. I had a Fuji X100S a few years ago (sold it to buy a lens I needed for a recurring contract) and I loved how portable and simple the camera was. I miss shooting with that camera and how it fit into any bag… which… Continue reading Concert photography with a Fuji X-T2 | Montreal Photographer
Budgeting time as a festival photographer | Montreal Concert Photographer
“How do you budget your time during festivals like this? It must be run, shoot, edit, repeat, all day.” I had a friend (hey Eric!) who asked the above question on my Facebook following a post of my Heavy Montreal day 1 images, where I was asked to pull double stage duty as one… Continue reading Budgeting time as a festival photographer | Montreal Concert Photographer
Photo composition: The Dutch Angle
There are a whole bunch of “rules” and standards in photography. Rule of thirds, golden circles, triangles, Fibonacci ratio…. and I could go on. I always enjoy seeing different compositions in photography. I also like knowing why these started being rules and standards. One of these elements is what is called the Dutch Angle. … Continue reading Photo composition: The Dutch Angle
How to remove watermarks from images | Montreal photographer
Let’s face it, we all hate seeing images with giant watermarks. There are two sides to the watermark debate…. those who believe that an image should be seen as a whole and a watermark removes from the beauty of the shot and thus don’t use watermarks. The other, are those who feel that adding their… Continue reading How to remove watermarks from images | Montreal photographer
Food photography … on the fly | Montreal Event Photographer
As much as you plan, as much as you discuss with a client, as a working professional, you always need to be able to deal with any situation. And that is sometimes easier said than done. Backstory: I was hired for a high profile food trade show to cover presentations, preparations, over 25 vendor stalls… Continue reading Food photography … on the fly | Montreal Event Photographer
The important (and not so important) website metrics | Montreal Photographer
Trying to run a successful business in today’s digital world means having a good online presence. One of the main components is probably your webpage or your blog. It is many people’s first view into your work and your world. You probably hopefully spent a good amount of time designing it, making sure it was… Continue reading The important (and not so important) website metrics | Montreal Photographer
Making the most of your downtime
With the type of photography I do, I find that late December and early January have a bit of downtime. Corporate headshots usually don’t happen around the holidays, concerts are few between December 20th and January 15th. Wedding season has been done for a few months, families are on holidays (although some still want holiday… Continue reading Making the most of your downtime
How to photograph a lunar eclipse supermoon | Montreal Supermoon Photographer
If your social media streams are like mine, you have seen quite a few super-bloodmoon eclipse images go by. And rightfully so, it doesn’t happen every day that we get a supermoon, a lunar eclipse AND a blood moon. It will happen again in 15-20 years. I figure this post might have been titled “What… Continue reading How to photograph a lunar eclipse supermoon | Montreal Supermoon Photographer
Tip #16: The best mouse I ever bought for photo editing in Photoshop
“You mean you don’t use a Wacom for your editing?”. No I don’t, crazy, right? There is nothing wrong with Wacoms. I tried one for a few weeks and I could not get used to it. And I didn’t find it essential for my style of editing. Most of my Event coverage and Concerts photos are… Continue reading Tip #16: The best mouse I ever bought for photo editing in Photoshop
From the hip | Image critique Scott
Scott is the next up who has sent me some images for review. I have known Scott for a few years, he was one of my private students for a few sessions, wanting to learn about concert photography and some image editing techniques … I arranged for us to shoot a show together which was… Continue reading From the hip | Image critique Scott
From the Hip | Image critique – JC
I haven’t had the time for image critiques in the last many months, so no time like the present to get one done! JC, a new hobbyist photographer, sent me a series of images for critique last week and asked me to choose 5 from the set. He isn’t using pro level equipment, he has… Continue reading From the Hip | Image critique – JC
Tip #15: Giving your images the “wow” factor … the easy way
You are going to read this and find it so simple, but yet, it is a hard thing to get in the habit of doing. It is something I tell all my students to do when they first start out. Post procesing is important to your image, as is choosing the right gear and settings… Continue reading Tip #15: Giving your images the “wow” factor … the easy way
Making the switch – Tips to a career in photography | Passion
My switch from corporate world to full time photographer is just over 2 years old, and it has been quite a learning path. Some things I was prepared for while other things well, let’s just say I had to work on them as they were a little less obvious. To keep my life path short,… Continue reading Making the switch – Tips to a career in photography | Passion
Camera settings (and random tips) for concert photography | Montreal Concert Photographer
Overview of camera settings used in Concert Photography
Quick Tip #15: One of the easiest tips that sped up my Lightroom workflow | Montreal Music Photographer
“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” – Henry Ford When you work in the media world, time is key. We all have a very limited time to get the images of the artists on stage (3 songs and out!), but in many instances, you… Continue reading Quick Tip #15: One of the easiest tips that sped up my Lightroom workflow | Montreal Music Photographer
Tip #14: How I made my images look better on Facebook | Montreal Photographer
The answer is pretty simple… I googled. hehe. Months ago, I kept having varied results with images I would post up on Facebook. Some would look great, others… not so much. They were fine on my computer screen and looked as I wanted them on my blog, but got all pixelated and weird looking when… Continue reading Tip #14: How I made my images look better on Facebook | Montreal Photographer
Food for thought at Freshmint | Montreal food photography
I was contacted earlier this year by Pemako Films to be part of a food photography/videography project for local company Freshmint, which produces high quality tasty food and delivers to your door (only available in the old port area). The project ping ponged between short videos, photos, longer videos, behind the scenes photos, no video,…… Continue reading Food for thought at Freshmint | Montreal food photography
6 things I learned shooting EDM | Montreal Concert Photographer
I have photographed DJs before. While EDM/electro (whatever you want to call it) is not my scene, I always found it a challenge breaking out of my comfort zone and try to output the best images I can. But they were always bigger name artists that were on stage and I had the typical 3… Continue reading 6 things I learned shooting EDM | Montreal Concert Photographer
Quick Tip #14: Fixing that fugly red light in a show with split toning
One of the biggest complaints a concert photographer can have is the quality of light. Low light, contrasty light or my personal hate … the dreaded red wash. What is red wash? Basically a red light (sometimes other colours) that sets a great mood for the fans but totally destroys the details in the lighter… Continue reading Quick Tip #14: Fixing that fugly red light in a show with split toning
Quick tip #13: Beware of contests
…. or read the fine print! It is so important when submitting your photos in a contest to read the fine print. Yes, it’s tedious. Yes, it’s small. But knowing where and how your image will be used, what happens with your copyright and so on is so important. There are many online contests and… Continue reading Quick tip #13: Beware of contests
Q&A: Why professionals charge what they do
I was having a drink with a friend a few weeks back and he asked me what my rates were for weddings. I told him that my average rates come out to $1400 for an 8 hour wedding (I do adjust rates based on what the couple requests 😉 ). He was a bit shocked… Continue reading Q&A: Why professionals charge what they do
Tips for shooting in an unknown area
I decided to title the post unknown instead of abandoned, as these tips kind of apply to any situation. As I love exploring forgotten buildings, I am often faced with a rush of artistic inspiration when I first walk it. And it is quite easy to get overwhelmed and not really know what to shoot.… Continue reading Tips for shooting in an unknown area